Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-07-19
SMALL FARMERS


Qusutly of small farmers, l. Increasing All
over he union-morc rapidly In the south
than ths North. f0r OBVIOUS rcasons, bat
quite rapidly la he North. The term
''.mAn farmer l. rather vague one.
man who has i5O acres 90 flAnd would hard.
~ on that statement. be reckoued small
farmer. yst there are In The hily, rocky,
swampy abd sandy parts OF The country,
many farms of TIA; area with but very few
acre. Of ,lilsgc land, Ani oftcu not mnch
pasture of any practical value. On the
other baud, there are truck farmers own
lng but Ten OF doIen acres, Who use
more manure. hire more help. and sell
more prOtucs fOr more money than others
who own good common farms OF 200 Aeres
and over. So II may be said there are
two kinds of small farmers-ihose who
farm comparatively small areas OF land
and those Who. irrespective OF acerAee,
prOtncc bat little for sale. Of The latter
class good many follow some other oe.
cupailou-A mechanical trade, numbering.
fshlng. pcitliug, and The IKE, AMI hardly
expect % 90 more with their farms than
% grow family supplies, keep horse and
Gov, = pig. poaltry, etc, from waish tne
sales arr ueccssAriiy Insignificant These
being leit on one side, We have remaining
Substantially Two sorts OF small farmers
The so-cAlied "scru0-fArme.. not Always
without brains, bat always without lndos-
Try. ambition. or respect Tor bis cAllng OF
himself. sni the small farmer Who u bent
on running his small farm Tor AL u is
worth.
Afsrtile bu, new and A. ass, seanilly
populated region, snail farming Is pfaea'
cally out ofihe question. The great staple
crops alone can be- grown, becAase thcy
alone can be easily shipped awsy over long
distances. % where there j. market ioi
them. The States % The uuion have eAch'
one Afer tac other. passed, or are BOW
passing through this stage of taslF exist
sncr. A TIE wealth of "a new state &C
cummalAie.. stock farming gradually re'
places excessive grain culture Ani stock
farming progresses with the iucreAse OF
capitAl. from sheep aud plg- 20 cattle,
mules aui horses, Ard then OnwArd 20
dAirying. fruit growing. fancy stock breed
ing. bop. hemp. oroom-corn, tooAceo, cot
Ton. and other spcciAltles- Most oi thc'e
seen % call for large arcas In order - oe
properly and probably carried on put a.
line gcCs On 10 i f0uni that with ncaf'y
al speclA.its competition . reach taM
,xcsiieuce watch alone brings high prizes
ana good protts requires certain amount
" concentration.
No nan who 1. Ia The race, and hAs his
wis ahoui him. viii fall ~ realize that TOO
rnuch lant l. rcaiiy onen = hinirancc In
.teat OF help. The rcpute for good. rc-
liable. uniform proiacts which comes 10
careful. Industrious. flrc-eslng farmer be-
eomes tht most important element In bis
sgcces.. sni BE- soon earns that 10 II very
dIrlcult u attain OF mAiniAlu those qrAli.
les while Armlug more land than can -
f,rrard wsu. Thls. thlnk. l. TIE chief
reason for tho Increased suoilvlsion oi
AIMS In re North AMI EAst Mach OF
ths poor And rough land Il being allowed
- revert - forest. aud capital and LABOR
Az, concentrated on such land only A.
Nil repsy The necessary expenditure Tor
more thcruugh tiilAgc. Though TIE area
lessons. the products Increase Ia qlAntlV
aps quality. There Is no reason Tor rc-
rrst In thls. The concentration oi TIE
rurAl population Ia this way i positively
Advantageous.
TIE nearer farmers get 90 each other The
more emulatiou there Il between tnem'
AZ the more opportunities There Ne Tor
,hsru ani for their families % Improve
themselves a. well a. their cireumstAnees'
ans 70 et joy The many Ani great aivAnis.
r,s of modern civilitAiion. Scattered
scout on The hllis. even when u was nee
,...ry In the early settlement of TIE coan-
nv. the ru-A population was unAvoidaoly
nrtnltlve and rough. Their outlook over
1,ture nirht bs broad. bu, their privileges
80 .rauIrrmeuts were narrow. Those
were the DAYS of local dialects. local
eostumss and customs. These never
Indeed. reached The degree OF Development
in AtnericA which has ben. and is, even
row. 40 universal in The Old World lsi
,h,v u-r, much more dlsccrnaole among
M. A hundred. fry. even twenty. years
- ,b,n now. II would b. very bard
now. In New Lngland' 70 hnd men OF
women answering - The vpes OF lAhkse
character 50 freely Illustrated in our ..iy
literature. Even 80 Mid asaiife As MS.
M'I.eAn's "CApe COD foiks Was looAci
on A. ar insult, and punished ~ Hoe',
While ln The mountains OF tne 'i-lhlAs
.nd CarourAs. kentucky. Tennessee anu
even Arkansas. the literary Instinct hn1s
he Geld for Otd character pAinting AL
queer dialects narrowing with wonderful
rap.dliy. Even the negro diAleets ana
customs disappear beiofe TIE ad'Anee v'
the now Almost universal common senoo!,
Customs, clothing and eonVersaion Al
Are ssekl and nndlng common lever OF
As ths growth Of our population IN
errasss The subdivision OF the land, Us
more careful cultivation, and an Increase
OF comfort and culture amongst TIE Agfi-
cultural people % The country u a. lnsNl-
table A. II seems - be desirable. Ihe
.fvsut OF such = change calls Tor dlncrent
methods. a different education, dlih sreht
Agricultural literature than taAi "hlen Ne
have hat. Eyerywherc The demand TOT
Industrial schools II making itseh heAfi'
We hear more oft In oehAlfoi The meehAn-
le.l elAsses bot the appeal Is but shghty
-. urgen, from the Held than irom Tie
.Aop. N cannot DC long before We shall
-. gardens and small farms attached 10
.n ne best rural schools, and shall de-
nsnd for such schools = class OF fsehts
f,mlllsr with both the theory ard TIE
practice % those natural sciences Whleh
ar NOS, nearly related 10 agriculture and
borticuliure. The Neurological schools
~ the city and country viii soon oe =,
work preparing our youth for iheir liisls
sork mon al altogether different and TAR
better method than has ever yet oeen
knowu. As sine goes 90, small farming
Nil take on larger and larger develop
meut. And With IL viii come revOlutlOn
iu Al our Ideas OF farm ne. There i no
reason Why. In the course OF such sde-
veIopmeut, farming may not become tne
mosi delightful OF AL occupations, and Us
solioser. the most renned. and socially
intellectually and morally The most nighy
DEVELOPED portion OF oar peopie.-I' AZ
Hosliss. " b., ia " h. Farmsr.
TIE canning OF green peas, which Il
now A busy industry In Delaware, is an
In,er,s,ing process. The peas are shelled
by hand ani then lei into the hopper OF =